one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well - virginia woolf

Monday, July 12, 2010

Greek Chicken

A couple of weeks ago we had Greek Mythology week at our house. One night we had a Greek dinner, with Greek salad, Greek chicken, ambrosia (food of the gods), pomegranate juice (in reference to Persephone), and honey cake for dessert. The Greek salad was our usual favorite, but the chicken was new: garlicky, lemony, and outstanding. I made it a few weeks later for my in-laws and my father-in-law said, "I can't stop eating this chicken!". That's high praise for the lowly chicken, I think.

You can marinate the chicken for up to a day or as little as an hour. Try to loosen the skin of the breasts and legs to let the marinade really soak in.

I started the chicken on the grill, then when the weather turned stormy I finished it in the oven, basting it with additional marinade. You can roast it, grill it, etc., but I liked having both the charcoal start and still getting the juices from the chicken as it finished in the oven. I spatchcocked this chicken, but you can cook it whole if you like or cut it up into pieces.

Greek Chicken (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 4 lb. chicken, whole, cut up, or spatchcocked

1/2 c. olive oil

2 lemons, juiced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 T fresh oregano or 1 t. dried oregano

1 T fresh rosemary or 1 t. dried rosemary

1 T fresh thyme or 1 t. dried thyme

2 t. kosher salt and pepper to taste

Put marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour into a gallon ziploc bag, add chicken, seal, and smoosh it around to combine. Marinate for at least one hour, flipping the bag from time to time. Roast or grill as desired.